The WWE run of Bruno Sammartino is a bit obscured in the eyes of modern fans, as Sammartino was done as a full-time wrestler a few years before Hulkamania even began. But it shouldn’t be forgotten that Bruno Sammartino was one of WWE’s biggest stars of all time, whose two WWE Championship reigns across the 1960s and 1970s totaled 11 years.

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There’s a lot to learn about such a major legend like Sammartino, so let’s go over 10 notable backstage stories that cover his career, from the details of his title wins and losses to his relationship with the current WWE boss Vince McMahon.

10 An Early Departure From WWE

Young Bruno Sammartino

Sammartino made his debut in 1959, wrestling in the New York territory for WWE, which back then was known as the Capitol Wrestling Corporation. Believing that his career wasn’t going anywhere in New York, he quit CWC but had trouble finding greener pastures. He found out that he’d been double-booked and inadvertently no-showed the bouts, which got him banned from multiple territories as a result. Sammartino believed that this was orchestrated by CWC boss Vince McMahon Sr., in retaliation for his departure.

9 Returning To WWE

WWWF Champion Bruno Sammartino

After a stint as a laborer, Bruno Sammartino would venture north of the border to Toronto, where he’d become a huge draw in the Canadian wrestling scene. This stint in Canada would catch the attention of McMahon Sr., who began to see value in Sammartino as a top draw. Vince wanted him back, and in response, Sammartino had one major requisition: to have him beat “Nature Boy” Buddy Rogers for the WWE Championship.

8 Winning The Title Via Screwjob

Bruno Sammartino wins the WWWF Championship from Buddy Rogers

Bruno Sammartino’s first world title reign began in 1963 when he defeated the first WWE Champion, Buddy Rogers, in Madison Square Garden. This would kick off an eight-year reign that would establish Sammartino as the star of the company. But the match itself could be described as a screwjob.

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Buddy Rogers had recently had a heart attack, so the promotion needed to take the title off of him in a quick match. Reportedly, Rogers was unwilling to actually relinquish the belt, so Sammartino had to give the original Nature Boy the classic ultimatum as they faced off in the ring: do this the easy way or the hard way. The match lasted 48 seconds.

7 Heat Between Sammartino and Rogers

"Nature Boy" Buddy Rogers

In the years since those fateful 48 seconds, both Sammartino and Rogers have conflicting accounts of the situation. While Rogers claimed that he was forced to compete six weeks after his heart attack, Sammartino claimed that Rogers faked his heart attack to duck out on a show with low attendance and thus a low payday. According to Sammartino, Buddy Rogers wrestled every day leading up to their MSG title match, including several clashes with Sammartino himself.

6 Losing The WWE Championship — Literally

Bruno Sammartino with the WWWF Championship

Bruno Sammartino won the WWE Championship in mid-May 1963, but four months later he’d literally lose the belt. In September, after defending the title against Tarzan Tyler at Madison Square Garden, Sammartino went out for dinner, leaving the championship belt in his car as he ate. Upon returning to his car, however, he found that it had been broken into and the WWE Championship was nowhere to be found. Unlike recent examples like Chris Jericho losing the AEW Championship belt at a Longhorn Steakhouse, this title belt never resurfaced.

5 Nearly Paralyzed By Stan Hansen

Stan Hansen

In 1976, future legend Stan Hansen was only a few years into his career when he took on Bruno Sammartino in Madison Square Garden. The bout was going pretty well, but something went wrong as Hansen picked up Sammartino for a scoopslam and accidentally dropped the star on his head and neck. Sammartino fractured a vertebra, and doctors said he was dangerously close to being paralyzed.

Despite this scary injury, Sammartino was back in the ring two months later and beat Hansen in a rematch. As for Hansen, promoters capitalized on the injury and said that Stan Hansen’s signature lariat was responsible for breaking Bruno Sammartino’s neck.

4 Dropping The Belt To Ivan Koloff

Ivan Koloff defeats Sammartino

In January of 1971, Bruno Sammartino’s eight-year run came to an end in a bout against Ivan Koloff. At this point, Sammartino was in pain, and ready for a break — he’d wrestled hundreds of matches, and the New York City boxing rings were rough on wrestlers’ bodies. But to the fans, the title change was a major shock to the crowd at Madison Square Garden.

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As Ivan Koloff scored a three-count over the seemingly unbeatable champion, the sold-out arena was stunned silent. Koloff was the new WWE Champion, but the referee told him that he would receive the title belt backstage in order to prevent a potential riot.

3 Saving Freddie Blassie Thanks To Kayfabe

Freddie Blassie

In 1964, the legendary “Classy” Freddie Blassie was still an in-ring competitor when he took on local hero Bruno Sammartino in front of a hostile New Jersey crowd, where he cheated for a cheap countout victory over the champ. Backstage, Jilly Rizzo — club owner, Frank Sinatra’s bodyguard, and die-hard wrestling fan — was hanging out in Sammartino’s dressing room, so Blassie kept kayfabe by mocking the champ. Enraged, Rizzo produced a pistol and threatened to shoot Blassie, but Sammartino continued to keep kayfabe by telling Rizzo that he wanted Blassie for himself in a future match.

2 Training Larry Zbyszko

Larry Zbyszko vs. Bruno Sammartino

One of Bruno Sammartino’s biggest feuds near the end of his career was with known protege Larry Zbyszko, who turned heel on his mentor in order to get out of the legend’s shadow, which led to a huge cage match at Shea Stadium. This mentor-protege relationship was steeped in reality, as a young Zbyszko had approached Sammartino at his house asking to be trained. Bruno agreed to train him, provided that Zbyszko attended college first.

1 Reconciling With Vince Jr.

Vince McMahon and Bruno Sammartino

Since parting ways with WWE in 1988, he spent the ensuing decades critical of the company under the direction of Vince McMahon Jr., disapproving the use of steroids in the early 1990s and the off-color TV content of the Attitude Era. In 2013, after years of declining, Sammartino finally accepted an offer from WWE to be inducted into its Hall of Fame, having felt satisfied with the company cleaning up its act. Ahead of the ceremony, Sammartino and the younger McMahon had reconciliation where Vince welcomed Bruno back into the fold.